For two Coloradans, there’s only one option when stepping on the tee box: Bomb it.
WESTMINSTER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 4: Andrew Eigner, left, and Monica Lieving are two of the top long drivers in the world at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve driving range on October 4, 2023 in Westminster, Colorado. Andrew Eigner’s had a breakout year as an amateur on the World Long Drive tour and just turned pro. Monica Lieving is currently the second-ranked women’s player on World Long Drive and one of the favorites to win a world title later this month.
Eigner’s gone all-in on his dream, quitting his engineering job to do charity golf outings and play on thetour full-time. He first tried a WLD event in 2012, but it wasn’t until last year that he started to seriously apply himself to the sport. He’s now seeing results in advanced metrics. Since he began working with Fay a year ago, his ball speed is up significantly from around 200 miles per hour to 215.5 entering the world championships. His club speed also increased, currently sitting at 145.5 mph.
“The first thing I did when I saw him was apologize,” Lieving recalled. “The first thing he said was, ‘Do you always hit it that far?’ Then he told me he wanted to talk to me after the round. I found it interesting, and subtly in the back of my mind, I thought about how when I was younger I’d watch long drive on the Golf Channel with my dad. It was something I was familiar with, but hadn’t thought much about it.
Currently, Lieving’s longest drive at elevation is 375 yards during a WLD event at the Bigfoot Turf Farm. She’s hit 345 yards at sea level, and her current ball speed PR is 183.3 mph, with hopes to soon get to 190. That would put her in rarified air for a woman. Along that evolution, the sport’s developed a brand it self-describes as golf at “full throttle.” WLD features drivers that are USGA legal, but are a couple inches longer than the average club.
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